Learning English as a second language

Native English speakers are surprised to learn that I can converse in English despite being a migrant worker in the U.S. and later an immigrant in Canada. English was not my first language; it is Filipino or Tagalog, one of the most commonly spoken dialects in the Philippines.

I say dialect because each region or province in the Philippines — in the three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — has its own form of language. The Philippines has more than 7,000 islands, with about 2,000 inhabited. For example, in Northern Luzon, you have Ilocano and Ibanag, while a deeper type of Tagalog is south of the island, along with Bicolano, Binisaya, Waray, Cebuano, and Ilonggo.

Growing up, I learned English by watching educational shows on television like Sesame Street and reading English books. English was also a subject taught in the schools I attended, from kindergarten to college, in the Philippines. Aside from Filipino or Filipino, English is the language used to teach subjects like history, mathematics, and science.

We also study Filipino, where you learn the grammar and syntax of our national language in addition to the epic poem Ibong Adarna, Francisco Balagtas' narrative poem Florante at Laura, and Dr. Jose Rizal's novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. The Filipino parts of speech are pangngalan (noun), panghalip (pronouns), pandiwa (verbs), pang-abay (adverbs), pang-uri (adjectives), pang-ukol (prepositions), pangatnig (conjunctions), and interjection (padamdam). 

I made grammatical errors in speaking and writing and mistakes in spelling, but I studied and learned by reading and with the help of my former editors in the print and online news industries. One of my common mistakes was using taught as the past tense of teach, and misspelling Wales, the country, as Whales, like Dianna, Princess of Whales. Even people whose first language is English commit mistakes. One of the most common errors I always read in social media comments is the use of YOUR and YOU'RE. Your is possessive, while You're is a contraction of the words You Are.

I also wrote in the passive voice without noticing it until the late Dan Mariano pointed it out one Sunday afternoon at the ABS-CBN News website's office. These are just some of the significant booboos I committed, and I just laugh it off now.

English first-language speakers might also wonder why some Filipinos pronounce several words that start with the letter F, like a folder or forensic with a complex P sound. The same goes with V words like victory and valuables with a thick B sound. The reason is that F and V are not part of the original Filipino, or Pilipino, alphabet. The original Pilipino alphabet also does not have the letters C, J, X and Z. We have the letter NG for words like NGuya (to chew), NGipin (teeth), and NGayon (now).